End Of Year Musings

Thunder Row has been a busy place in 2013, and I haven't had as much time to keep this blog up to date as I would have liked.  But we have kept everybody informed on important topics, and have always provided links to the Row; the invitation is still open to visit as often as you like.

I wanted to take a bit of time to review what we've accomplished.
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We've featured some really outstanding musician interviews and album reviews.  Click HERE to see some of the bassists we've spoken to, and the albums we've given a spin!

Bernhard Lackner, Sean O'Bryan Smith, Antoine Fafard, Jeff Berlin, Zander Zon - these are just some of the names of musicians whose albums we've reviewed.  All good stuff, for sure.
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Our exclusive game, "Skin DEEP" has seen some gorgeous basses highlighted.  Skin DEEP is a game of OUTER beauty, where we acknowledge the people who design how a bass will look.  When a bass catches your eye, it will always be because of first glances.  The look!  We plan to continue the game into 2014.  The rounds can be found in our OFF TOPIC area.  You have to be a member to vote, so sign up today!
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Speaking of signing up, many new wise people have purchased Roy Vogt's Teach Me Bass Guitar and are well on their way to becoming skilled musicians.  Check out these posts of TMBG students showing off their skills.

http://www.thunderrow.com/showthread.php?5273-Little-Sumthin-for-Bassix-Fretless-Action

http://www.thunderrow.com/showthread.php?5163-Gig-tonight&p=27505#post27505

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWG_rTvcQAA&feature=youtu.be

There are more students making their way through the course - not everybody posts their progress in video or mp3, but they're still making their way up the ladder!

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We've posted videos of some nice Christmas songs by our friends.

http://www.thunderrow.com/content.php?1783-Christmas-Song-From-Martin-Motnik

http://www.thunderrow.com/content.php?2270-Alberto-Rigoni-Wishes-You-A-Merry-Christmas

And I even dug out my fave Bass Christmas Poem for the holidays!

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Now, let's talk about ROY VOGT'S BASS BOOT CAMP, coming up in 2014.  You have to own a copy of TMBG to get in on the action.  Buy yours today and book a slot! Hurry!  I think there are only 4 spots left!

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We've also been doing some house-cleaning for the new year.  Organising, streamlining, re-arranging. We're trying to clean up some of the posts and articles that have become cluttered.  Most importantly, we've fixed a bunch of posts and lesson material that - for various reasons - had lost their attachments.  THIS is one of the areas that got a complete make-over.  There are other areas, but they are private and exclusive to TMBG owners ONLY (one of the benefits of owning the course!).  In 2014, we plan to continue the clean-up, so things are easier to find and use.

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Stay tuned for more on Thunder Row!  2014 should be a great year!

Shutdown Surprise!

To celebrate all the amazing people living and working in this great country, we're offering Teach Me Bass Guitar at the special rate of $149.94 (or $49.98 for the 3-pay installment plan) until the government is back in full operation.

No coupon needed.

So, government shut down? No worries . . . play bass with Teach Me Bass Guitar!

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Not only are we having a sale, but the MUGS are in, and there are murmurings stirring about the 2014 Roy Vogt Bass Boot Camp!

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Thunder Row takes a look at Sean O'Bryan Smith's album, REFLECTION.  Stay tuned for an interview with Sean!  Coming next week!

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Teach Me Bass Guitar's Alona Raevska unearths some timely tips and tricks in Part One of her interview with America's Got Talent house band bassist Justin Goldner.  Click HERE.

Mugs and Aristocrats

Whew! Been awhile since I've had a chance to blog for the Row. But that doesn't mean there hasn't been a lot going on deep down in Thunderland! We've got the Roy Vogt's Fantasy Bass Boot Camp happening this weekend. The lucky students going to Camp this year are sure to come back with some great stories, and - of course - we'll be posting their pix and experiences for you to see. They're already planning for next year's bass camp, so make sure you visit Thunder Row on a regular basis to keep up on the announcements.

I am very excited about the announcement that Teach Me Bass Guitar is trying to rally up enough support to order a shipment of Custom Coffee Mugs! You don't have to be a member of Thunder Row to get in on this. All you have to do is send an email to david@thelearningdock.com and express your interest in getting a mug. We're not taking orders yet - just gauging the interest level. You see, they sell the mugs in groups of 24, so we'd have to garner at least 24 emails of interest to see if it's feasible to place an order. You have until the end of August to send the email, so get at it! These mugs are gorgeous! Show your support for Roy Vogt's Teach Me Bass Guitar.

We have also posted the latest video from new bass student, Alona Raevska. If you missed it, Alona is a newbie who is posting lesson-by-lesson videos of her journey through TMBG. In this installment, she shows us that she has learned the parts of the bass guitar and the names of the strings. For a new student, who's never had any bass instruction before now, these are the first steps to becoming a full-fledged bass guitarist! Check out the new video HERE.

Our latest album review is CULTURE CLASH by The Aristocrats. It's a great collection of songs!

Oh, and speaking of The Aristocrats, Thunder Row is giving away two FREE copies of Culture Clash. Draw is open to EVERYBODY and will be made on the 15th of August. Read the INFO and RULES and send in your entry!

We all know prices increase, and unfortunately, TMBG is not immune. The price of Roy Vogt's course will be going up after the end of August. Read about it HERE, and then read HERE to understand the true value of getting this great course!

Lastly, we've just re-posted an older lesson by Roy Vogt. Some time back, some of the supplemental material had been lost during a forum upgrade, but we've re-located it, so the lesson is available again! Just click HERE for the lesson and downloadable supplements.

Summer On The Row

As we approach the Summer months, Thunder Row will be filling those warm hours with plenty of bass goodies to keep you thinking MUSIC!

Summer is a great time to start thinking about starting those lessons you've always wanted. Roy Vogt's Teach Me Bass Guitar is like having your own private teacher at the campground or beach. How many of us take our laptops with us when we go on holiday? I know I always take mine! If your laptop has a DVD player, take TMBG with you wherever you go, and you'll always have your lessons close at hand. You can pack your bass and that small practice amp, and practice on the fly!

Check out Thunder Row this week. We show Italian bassist, Alberto Rigoni, testing out his new Dingwall bass. It's enough to give me GAS, y'all!

http://www.thunderrow.com/content.php?2015-Rigoni-s-New-Dingwall-Gives-me-GAS!!!

We've just completed our review of Jeff Berlin's latest album, Low Standards. Get the lowdown HERE, and then check out Jeff's own words about the album HERE, as he talks to Thunder Row.

Thunder Row wishes Chuck Rainey a Happy Birthday!

Ever see a steel, round-neck bass? Check out the Stash Stainless Steel Bass HERE.

Stay tuned! Teach Me Bass Guitar will be revealing its new MERCH, including T-Shirts and Coffee Mugs with our new slogan, "I Bleed Bass."

Sign up for Thunder Row today!

Zander And Alona

This week, we take a look at the new album by bassist, Zander Zon. SATURN RETURN is now available everywhere, and it's well worth it! Remarkable skill, that Zon fellah! Check out our review on Thunder Row.

The other big news on Thunder Row this week is that we are starting a new feature.Brand new bass student, Alona Raevska, will be taking us along for her journey through the Teach Me Bass Guitar lessons. She will be posting videos of her progress, and giving us comments and insight into the process. Read up and check out her first posting HERE.

April Is For Discounts

 For the month of April ONLY, Roy Vogt's Teach Me Bass Guitar is available for 10% off the already fantastic, low price!  Just enter the code BIGSALE when ordering, and get your discount.

This week on Thunder Row, we have a couple of great videos:

Mark King's Masterclass in Bass, and an interview with bassist Alain Caron by Jon Liebman from ForBassPlayersOnly.com.  Lotsa great material out there if you know where to look!

We give you the lowdown on the Tech 21 Bass Boost FUZZ pedal.  Check it out HERE.

 Lane Baldwin gives us Part 2 of his series "In Search Of The Perfect Custom Bass."  And speaking of Lane Baldwin, he's ready to part with some of his gear.  Are you interested in buying?  Check it out!

In terms of instruction, we have some more charts for you to print out and save.

http://www.thunderrow.com/content.php?774-BASS-GUITAR-CHORDS-Last-But-Not-Least-Everybody-s-Favorite!-G!

http://www.thunderrow.com/content.php?426-Charting-New-Territory

Great news for those of us who love, love, LOVE DR neon strings!  Find out HERE.

We recently took a look at SeLKA, an interesting band from the Netherlands.  Their album, TRANSFORMATIONS, is a great mix of jazz bass and ambient new-age moods.  I was impressed!  Read The Review and then check out where the album in available.

Coming Soon: a friend to Thunder Row has suggested we look into a particular bassist.  I'm not going to give too much away, but I'm in the process of researching this musician and will get back to y'all with more info as we get the lowdown.

Are you a member of Thunder Row?  Join up today!

Thunder Row - A Cosy Home

Remember being in school and the teacher would give you an assignment with the title, “Why I love my cat”, or “Why I love my dog”? ...bicycle? You’d sit down with pen in hand (yes, we used to complete our assignments in pen) and drift off to a daydream of your fave item. You’d think of how shiny your bike looked in the glinting sun, or how your puppy always greeted you when you got home from school.

Being a kid meant you could dive into things head first and never worry about being thought of as foolish or silly. You could enjoy things for the pure pleasure of getting behind what made you happy.

I’m proud to say that I’ve never lost that. When I enjoy something, I get into it like it’s the first time I’ve ever seen it, or experienced it. It’s not something I work at; it’s just there. It’s the way my wheels turn.

So, why am I talking about this? Because I’ve been thinking about our home here on Thunder Row. As some of you know, from dealing with me in the years since Thunder Row began, I had been hunting around for a formal bass instruction course, and liked what I saw with TMBG. Not only did the lessons seem well laid out, but I loved the idea of playing with the band and really immersing myself in the material. But when I found that TMBG also had its own little forum, where we could all gather in the virtual world of our lessons, I really wanted to be part of it.

I’ve met some pretty fine people on Thunder Row. It’s not one of those monstrous public forums where there are so many thousands of users that you can never really get a bead on the place. Thunder Row is big enough to provide a variety of topics, yet small enough to feel like a family. If someone wants to talk gear, there are many among us who have extensive knowledge of the more technical aspects of the bass and its rigs. If someone wants to ask about strings, or straps, or whatever, they can do so with confidence that the people here will help. You don’t feel the fool for asking what you assume will be a foolish question.

Sometimes, at first, we might be hesitant to share failings and shortcomings as we stumbling through our lessons. If there are pros among us, we might shy away and keep quiet, lest we look inadequate in their wake. But it’s soon very evident that there are no “big-shots” here. The people here are not trying to out-do the next guy, or to show off in front of newbies and green-horns.

You know what I feel? Enthusiasm. Exuberance. A real sense of family and fun. The child in me wants to stay out late and play well into the dark with my buddies. We can share bass stories, experiences, and chatter about why we all love the instrument of thunder. Even if it’s just to post a video of a song that makes us get up and stomp our feet. We make our little games and polls, share the music we love; Thunder Row is warm and friendly, patient, playful, and above all, supportive to the members - to us all.

We’ve grown quite a bit since way back when, but my heart still remains young and full of love for this little corner of the world. We’ve all opened up to each other enough to discuss personal stories away from the bass, or even to show videos or mp3s of ourselves as we learn the lessons of TMBG. It continues to make me a happy child.

I just wanted to say THANKS to Thunder Row, and to all of you, for keeping me young. Music and the love of bass guitar brings us together - like kids who spit into their hands and shake on a long-standing friendship. Um... no, I don’t want to spit on anybody. I just want to hang out as we enjoy our lessons, and our mutual friendship.

Come and play!  http://www.thunderrow.com

Neener, neener, neener! Can’t catch me!

:::runs off down the street:::

Roy Vogt's Fantasy Bass Boot Camp

Do you want to really get down and get some hands-on teaching?  Sign up now for Roy Vogt's Fantasy Bass Boot Camp!  There are only a few spots left!

               

More details can be found HERE.

Miss Me?

I haven't had the chance to blog as often as I'd like, but now that I'm back at it, let's talk about all the great things going on at Thunder Row, the place for bass players, bass students, lovers of the bass, people with deep voices and long necks... well, you get the idea.

I am very excited to have received an announcement from DR Strings that they are coming out with some new and exciting additions to their NEON string line.   use the DR Neons myself and can attest with the utmost sincerity that they are some of the best bass strings around. Quality aside, they are also some of the best LOOKING bass strings around. And now, in addition to orange, green, yellow, and pink, they will be coming out in white. They are also releasing a new multi-coloured set, including blue and purple, for seven and eight string guitars. The whites are the ones I will be focusing on, since I have a white bass. These will look so cool. And the sound?  Nothing but the best from DR! Check out our colourful report by clicking HERE.

There are only TWO spaces left for this year's Fantasy Bass Boot Camp, hosted by Roy Vogt. I'm sure on of these places has YOUR name on it... but only if you CLICK.

I took a look at one of the bass albums by Gary Karr. It's a wonderful collection called "Super Double Bass", and features a little classical, a little Spiritual, and a little Stephen Foster. I hope you enjoy the review. Click HERE to read.

And speaking of reviews, I pulled up an old one from the vaults because it's such a good album that it deserves a second look. The article is actually an interview with Martin Motnik (creator of the album), but there's a link included to read the original review itself. CLICK and enjoy.

We at Thunder Row are very excited about the new album by bassist Lane Baldwin. Want a sample? Click HERE and I betcha you'll be on pins and needles for this!

We have a lot more going on. Some fretboard charts, links to great tutorials, and of course, our FORUM, where you can join us in bass conversations, play our weekly game called Skin DEEP - where we have a real SWEAT going on in the latest competition. You can even share your music or bass lessons, if you're taking TMBG - the finest self-faced DVD bass course in the world! But if you want to join in the fun, you gotta sign up! Membership is FREE if you've bought the course. If you haven't yet done so, sign up HERE, and we'll be glad to keep you company until you decide to take the plunge!  Um... membership is also FREE if you haven't ought the course.

Interviews And More!

Keiko Gutierrez, Thunder Row's reporter in the field, has submitted the remaining material she accumulated while at the NAMM Show. We've posted it all, and so here are the links:

Interview with Brian Bromberg

Interview with Stuart Hamm

Interview with Steve Bailey - Part 1

Interview with Steve Bailey - Part 2

Interview with George Furlanetto and Alain Caron

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I was really happy to have posted a mini-bio on double-bassist, Gary Karr, in our "Bassists A Bassist Should Know" series. It was only a Wikipedia blurb, but that's okay, because the man's music is wonderful enough to speak for itself.

What's NEWS is that I'm going to be reviewing one of Gary's albums this month. Choosing only one from among all the albums available is going to be rough, but I'm sure the one I choose will meet with your approval.

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Bass Grammy Wrap-Up

We have three bassy winners this year!

Paul McCartney

Esperanza Spalding

Charlie Haden (courtesy of notreble.com)

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Lane Baldwin, teacher of the Thunder Row series, Blues You Can Use, is also offering lessons on SKYPE. To read what Lane has to say, click HERE!

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And last but not least, we showcase the new Phil Jones Double Four BG75 bass amp. A lot of power in a small package!

NAMM PHOTO EXTRAVAGANZA!

Keiko Gutierrez, Thunder Row's reporter in the field, has turned in her picture collection for all of us to enjoy. The Thunder Row forum itself only permits five pictures per feature, so I thought it would be better to post the collection here, where they can all be enjoyed at once!

Ready? Then let us begin!


Hey! The people you meet at a Trade Show!

Keiko with Jon Liebman from Forbassplayersonly.com


With Dr. Randy Kertz - Bass Chiropractor


With Canadian bassist Alain Caron


With bassist Dave LaRue


With bassist Stuart Hamm


With bassist Victor Wooten
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And then there were the BASSES!!


Brian Bromberg designed Marleaux soprano bass


Another Marleaux soprano - the non Bromberg version


Ten strings and counting! Betcha a dollar Roy could play it!


Fender Mustang Bass


Washburn display. Wait a minute! Are those six-strings on the right??


Warwick bass (I think this is the StarBass)


La Bella's first bass! The Olinto


Mas Hino bass - La Bella Strings


Lakland! Anyone for 10-pin bowling? Heh, heh...


Traveler Basses


Spector - love the colours!


Smith Basses


Nelson Rio playing the Ubass


Ritter


More Ritter (you can never get enough)
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Straps, Straps, and... um... STRAPS!!
















Whew! I think Keiko was a little fixated on STRAPS!!

...but aren't they all so good looking? Oh wait! There's another display!



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Amps and the Marshall WALL!!


Someone will win this amp!


The Purple Monster


TC Electronics


EBS Cab and Head


Eden Amps


The Orange Collection
And, of course...


The stuff of legend. The Marshall Wall
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The Booths


Orange Booth


Aria Booth


TC Electronics (betcha could have figured that out. Heh heh...)


Ampeg

Now check out this next one., Doesn't this image command respect of the highest degree?


The Fender Room
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And how can we forget the STRINGS!


Ernie Ball


D'Addario


DR Neons


More DRs


Ain't they gorgeous?
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Instructional and Music Books

Movie Music


Bass Instruction
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Miscellaneous GEAR!


UE Ear Monitors


The PractizPal


This one's called "Rossini Raspberry"


Guitar Docks wall holders


Monster Cables - Raawrrr!


A Monster for every bass!


Ear Awareness for Musicians


Ear Protection for little ones
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Effects


Aguilar Stomp Boxes


Source Audio Pedals


Mark Bass Pedals


The Zoom B3... Hmmm, looks familiar


Soundtrack Boards
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Okay, so it's not ALL about the bass...













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Performances and Guest Appearances


The Hilton lobby stage


Glenn Hughes at the Orange Amp Booth


Stevie Wonder in Da House! With Mick Hayes Band.


Great White, featuring Dario Seixas on bass





I had considered putting this bass up in our Skin DEEP game! It's called the Atom 3D bass. Here's a close-up pic (not from the NAMM show)




Back to the show!


The City at the Monster Booth


Tony Levin at the Music Man Booth

Remember Keiko's NAMM Report on Thunder Row?
This is Victor Wooten's performance for the movie being shown




With Marcela Pinilla







So long, NAMM. See you next year!


Outdoor Stage

Whew!! That's a lot of pix! Make me work for a living, eh? Ha!
Thanks, Keiko! These are marvelous!